Case Detail

AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE v. UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

District

District of Columbia

City

Washington, DC

Case Number

1:2017cv01425

Date Filed

2017-07-18

Date Closed

Open

Judge

Judge Trevor N. McFadden

Plaintiff

AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE

Case Description

The American Center for Law and Justice submitted a FOIA request to the National Security Agency for records concerning requests by former National Security Advisor Susan Rice to unmask identifying information about Donald Trump, his family, or his campaign associates contained in electronic surveillance intercepts. ACLJ also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted expedited processing. However, after hearing nothing further from the agency, ACLJ filed suit.Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Vaughn index, Litigation - Attorney's fees

NOTICE of Appearance by Colby Mims May on behalf of AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (May, Colby) (Entered: 07/18/2017)

2017-07-18

8

NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Robert Clark on behalf of AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (Clark, Matthew) (Entered: 07/18/2017)

2017-07-18

Case Assigned to Judge Royce C. Lamberth. (md) (Entered: 07/18/2017)

2017-07-18

9

SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice of Consent) (md) (Entered: 07/18/2017)

2017-07-19

10

NOTICE of Appearance by Abigail A. Southerland on behalf of AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (Southerland, Abigail) (Entered: 07/19/2017)

2017-08-02

11

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 7/19/2017. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 8/18/2017. (Sisney, Benjamin) (Entered: 08/02/2017)

2017-08-02

12

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 07/19/2017. (Sisney, Benjamin) (Entered: 08/02/2017)

ORDER: Both a Complaint and an Answer are now before the court in this FOIA case. It is hereby ordered that the parties shall meet and confer and file a Joint Status Report on or before December 22, 2017. See attached Order for additional details. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 11/20/2017. (lctnm2) (Entered: 11/20/2017)

MINUTE ORDER granting Defendant's 17 Motion to Consolidate Related Cases and Continue Joint Status Report. It is hereby ORDERED that American Center for Law and Justice v. U.S. National Security Agency, No. 17-cv-01425, and American Center for Law and Justice v. U.S. Department of States, No. 17-cv-01991, are consolidated. The Clerk's Office shall close No. 17-cv-01991 and transfer those parties to No. 17-cv-01425; all filings shall be made only in No. 17-cv-01425 and parties shall NOT elect to spread text when filing on ECF, as this will result in repetitive docketing. It is further ORDERED that the parties in both cases shall appear for a status conference on January 4, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., in place of the status conference set for December 21, 2017 in No. 17-cv-01991, and the joint status report due on December 22, 2017 in No. 17-cv-01425. The parties shall meet and confer prior to the status conference to discuss the status of the underlying FOIA requests and scheduling for further proceedings. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 12/20/2017. (lctnm2) (Entered: 12/20/2017)

MINUTE ORDER. Pursuant to the status conference held on January 4, 2018, the parties shall file a Joint Status Report on or before February 2, 2018. It is further ORDERED that the parties shall file a Joint Status Report every 60 days thereafter, unless the parties agree upon and the Court approves another time frame. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 1/4/2018. (lctnm2) (Entered: 01/04/2018)

2018-01-05

Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 2/2/2018, and every 60 days thereafter, unless the parties agree upon and the Court approves another time frame. (tg) (Entered: 01/05/2018)

2018-01-09

18

TRANSCRIPT OF STATUS CONFERENCE before Judge Trevor N. McFadden held on January 4, 2018; Page Numbers: 1-18. Date of Issuance:January 9, 2018. Court Reporter/Transcriber Lisa Moreira, RDR, CRR, Telephone number (202) 354-3187, Transcripts may be ordered by submitting the Transcript Order Form For the first 90 days after this filing date, the transcript may be viewed at the courthouse at a public terminal or purchased from the c ourt reporter referenced above. After 90 days, the transcript may be accessed via PACER. Other transcript formats, (multi-page, condensed, CD or ASCII) may be purchased from the court reporter. NOTICE RE REDACTION OF TRANSCRIPTS: The parties have twenty-one days to file with the court and the court reporter any request to redact personal identifiers from this transcript. If no such requests are filed, the transcript will be made available to the public via PACER without redaction after 90 days. The policy, which includes the five personal identifiers specifically covered, is located on our website at www.dcd.uscourts.gov. Redaction Request due 1/30/2018. Redacted Transcript Deadline set for 2/9/2018. Release of Transcript Restriction set for 4/9/2018.(Moreira, Lisa) (Entered: 01/09/2018)

2018-02-02

19

Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Motgi, Anjali) (Entered: 02/02/2018)

2018-02-05

MINUTE ORDER. In light of the parties' 19 Joint Status Report, the parties are hereby ORDERED to appear for a status conference on April 5, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 2, before Judge Trevor N. McFadden. The plaintiff's request for a briefing schedule will be held in abeyance until that time. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 2/5/2018. (lctnm2) (Entered: 02/05/2018)

MOTION to Continue Status Hearing by AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (See Docket Entry 20 to view document). (znmw) (Entered: 04/04/2018)

2018-04-04

MINUTE ORDER. Upon consideration of the parties' 20 Request to Continue the Status Conference set for April 5, 2018, that request is hereby DENIED. The parties shall appear for the status conference as previously scheduled. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 4/4/2018. (lctnm2) (Entered: 04/04/2018)

MINUTE ORDER. Until otherwise ordered by the Court, the State Department shall aspire to process 400 pages per month, with the expectation that any monthly shortfall will be made up in the following month. At this time, the Court will not order briefing on the Defendants' Glomar responses, and the current requirement of Joint Status Reports every 60 days will continue unchanged. SO ORDERED. (lctnm2) (Entered: 04/05/2018)

2018-04-25

22

STANDING ORDER Establishing Procedures for Cases Before Judge Trevor N. McFadden. The parties are hereby ORDERED to read and comply with the directives in the attached standing order. Courtesy copies are excused for all filings predating the entry of this Standing Order. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 4/25/2018. (lctnm2) (Entered: 04/25/2018)

2018-05-03

MINUTE ORDER. In light of the Plaintiff's recent filing in American Center for Law and Justice v. United States Department of State, Case No. 1:16-cv-1975, and the Court's subsequent processing order in that case, the requirement that the State Department aspire to process 400 pages per month in this case is hereby LIFTED. The State Department shall continue to process potentially responsive records with due diligence but without a monthly minimum. The parties shall continue to file Joint Status Reports every 60 days, as previously ordered. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Trevor N. McFadden on 5/3/2018. (lctnm2) (Entered: 05/03/2018)

2018-06-04

23

Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Motgi, Anjali) (Entered: 06/04/2018)

2018-08-03

24

Joint STATUS REPORT by DEPARTMENT OF STATE, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. (Motgi, Anjali) (Entered: 08/03/2018)

2018-08-16

25

NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF APPEARANCE as to AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE. Attorney Carly F. Gammill terminated. (Southerland, Abigail) (Entered: 08/16/2018)